Dreaming In Scraps

Happy days are hard work

So...let's be honest. Not every day is a happy day in my house. In fact, some (most?) days are a combination of love and messiness and chaos. But then it all comes together in the triumph of getting everyone around the dinner table -- only to find that we're all too tired to talk to each other. Yeah, that's kind of my life.

But sometimes you stop and take a breath and you realize that even your messiest and most chaotic days are sort of beautiful. Or you find little moments of sweetness mixed in with the eye-rolls and heaps of laundry and sibling rivalry. I'm learning to embrace those moments.

They'll be gone before I know it.

Just like this girl, who is growing up way too fast. But she's learning the same lessons -- to hang onto those awesome moments of light and clarity when they happen. And if that's all she learns from her mama...well, I guess I haven't totally failed.

Yes, I still make stuff :)

For anyone who still visits this blog, bless your sweet little heart. I haven't posted in ages. I've thought about it. People have encouraged me to do it. But life gets busy...and stays busy.

I've never stopped playing in my craft room. And yes, there is still a craft room. Still filled with supplies and inspiration. Still my favorite place to escape for a few hours (when I have them).

My current obsession is bible journaling. (Me and everyone else in the scrapbooking world, apparently.) Hello, Bandwagon! Why, sure, I'll jump right on!

It works for me for so many reasons, but the main one is: it reminds me to stop and think. Finding a verse that speaks to whatever I happen to be struggling with, then turning it into art -- well, that's just about the most perfect way to relax in the history of EVER!

Here are a few of my favorite pages:

I'm pretty compulsive about not covering up the words. But I'm finding all these wonderful transparent chalks and watercolors that don't obscure anything, so once in a while I'll experiment a little like this:

And here's the front of my bible. I gave it some personality...but not too much. (As in: not so much that the old lady sitting next to me in church will need to pray extra for me.)

And that concludes my show and tell for today. I'll try not to wait quite so long before the next one. Stay tuned!

Warning: Shiny Objects Ahead

It's time for the big reveal of the new "Your Time to Shine" kit from The Little Blue House. If you've been to The Little Blue House blog, you've already seen some of the fabulous projects created with this kit. And today, I'm sharing what I made:

Jumping on the paper-pieced-chevron bandwagon with this one, but all the fabric-inspired patterns in the papers just made me want to quilt them together.

Here's another layout I created using black cardstock with Color Shine mist in Gold Lame' to add a little sparkle.

Lots of layers on this banner, plus a bow I tied out of fabric scraps on each end.

I think this one's my favorite. There are two pieces of 6x6 black chipboard in the kit and I used mine to create a hanging frame. I cut strips from the different metallic papers and lined them up to cover the front of the frame, then I brushed Tattered Angels Stained Glass over the top to give it that pretty pink color.

Finished off with a few embellishments and a stamped sentiment from the stamp set in the kit.

Speaking of the stamps, here's a card I created using another one of the stamps:

Loved this yarn because it reminded me of the yarn ribbons girls used to wear in their hair when I was little. Easy to tie into a pretty bow.

And finally, there was a 6x12 canvas in the kit. I'll admit it. Canvas kind of intimidates me. I don't pretend to be a painter. I know my limitations. So here's what I did:

I mod-podged scrapbook paper to the canvas. Then I used chipboard letters to spell out the phrase. Then I painted over the whole thing with pink. Once dry, I peeled off the letters and outlined them in black. I used Stickles to fill in the word "sparkle."

It's not exactly a work of art, but my 7-year-old is begging to display it in her room -- which I think is a perfect spot for it!

For more project ideas using this kit, be sure to visit The Little Blue House Blog and check out all the designers creations.

You can order your own "Your Time To Shine" kit by visiting The Little Blue House or online at

www.thelittlebluehouseonline.com.

One more peek!

Happy Valentine's Day! Hope your day is full of love!

It's time for one last peek of my projects with the newest kit from The Little Blue House.

Do you like shiny, embellishments?

The big reveal is tomorrow -- Saturday, February 15 -- so be sure to stop by The Little Blue House blog for more peeks and your chance to win a free kit!

A New Front Porch Kit...Coming Soon!

Well, I knew I hadn't blogged in a while. But I just realized exactly how long it's been. Yikes! I need to get back here more often!

But enough of that. Let's get to the fun stuff! How about a brand new Front Porch Kit from The Little Blue House?

This one was right down my alley, and I've had so much fun creating with it. As always, Tracy has packed in so many inspiring goodies to spark your creativity, and this one is full of shiny, sparkly stuff. What's not to love about that?

Here's a little peek at one of my projects:

And since I didn't post a peek yesterday, here's another bonus peek for you today:

Getting excited?

The full reveal is on Saturday, February 15, but you can preorder today at The Little Blue House website. You can also enter to win a free kit on The Little Blue House Blog.

And be sure to check out the rest of the sneaks from the design team:

Valerie Bishop
Lynette Chiles

Stay tuned for more sneak peeks tomorrow and the full reveal on Saturday!

Reveal Day!

Today's the big day...the full reveal of the new Front Porch Kit from The Little Blue House!

As usual, there are tons of creative papers, embellishments and other materials to inspire you. Check out the Little Blue House blog to see all the fabulous goodies that are packed into this kit and leave a comment to win a FREE kit!

Ready to see what I made?

First off, a double layout with lots of photos. I don't do that many double layouts, so they're kind of a challenge for me. But the colors in the kit papers all just really worked together...

I loved the Scrabble tiles and wanted to find a way to incorporate them, so I added our initials inside the slide frames.

There are also some chalkboard embellishments in this kit, including chalk tape, which I used to handwrite part of my title.

The surface in this kit is a fun little clipboard from Pebbles (we're calling him Chip!), and I turned it into a wall hanging to show off one of my favorite photos.

I added a poker chip and some ribbon to the metal part, and I tore a strip of the fabric in the kit to tie around the bottom.

Next up is another layout. Just a silly photo Avery and I took one day in the car when we were waiting for Cecily to arrive.

One of the things I loved about working with this kit is that it really works with any photos you want to use. You don't have to make them all about games! And here you'll see another bit of chalk paper that I doodled some arrows onto. (I'm not much of a doodler, but I can handle arrows!)

There's some really cool foil tape that I punched the flower shapes out of. Fun to play with! And shiny, too!

Finally, here's my bonus project. I wanted to do something fun with the deck of cards in the kit. As I was looking at the box, I thought "Hey, I could make this box into a book cover and use the cards as the pages!" So it became a little bit of a personal challenge to see if I could really do it, but it actually worked pretty well.

Since it was a package of "Bicycle" cards (and also because of the red, white and blue color scheme), I decided to use photos of my kids riding their bikes in the 4th of July Parade. See, I'm tricky like that!

I used scraps of papers from the kit, along with chalk tape to finish it off. It's one of those projects that looks super-complicated, but it's actually pretty easy to whip out.

For more ideas and project photos, be sure to check out the Inspiration Gallery at The Little Blue House website, where you can also order your own Game On kit!

A great escape

A piece of advice: when your kitchen is a dirty, empty shell of a room awaiting renovations, the best possible thing you can do is get out of town! Bonus points if you can work out a way to do your favorite thing while you're away.

Several months ago, I was invited to a craft retreat for this weekend and, not having any idea what stage our renovation would be in, I accepted. Fast forward to August 9. As I was packing my bags to leave my construction-in-progress house, I thought: could we have timed this any better?

I'm kind of amazed at all the pages/projects I've gotten done, all while enjoying home-cooked meals and a snack table that's overflowing with all the treats I never allow myself to eat. Yeah. It's heaven.

My count for the weekend:

9 scrapbook pages (probably more like 11 by the time I leave today)
1 mini book
1 altered clipboard

I won't share my calorie count. Besides, I lost count of that somewhere around 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Oops.

So I'll be sharing photos of the project I created over the next week, but for today, here's another peek of one of my projects with the new Front Porch Kit that will be released on Tuesday.

Be sure to visit the Little Blue House blog where you can see more sneak peeks of the kit as we count down to the full reveal on Tuesday, Aug. 13. You can also enter to win a FREE kit by commenting on the sneak posts there!

Sneak Peek!

It's time for a new Front Porch Kit from The Little Blue House!

Today starts all the fun, with sneak peeks of some projects we've created. Here's my sneak for the day:

So many fun things to play with in this kit. You are going to LOVE IT!

Ready to see some more peeks and maybe even win your own kit?

Visit the LBH blog and post a comment on any of the three Sneak Peek dates, and you'll be entered into a drawing for a FREE Game On Kit!

And please come back tomorrow for a few more peeks before the BIG reveal on Tuesday, Aug. 13!

Upcoming Classes...in Texas AND Charlotte, NC!

It's been a busy summer, to say the least. Yes, I've been crafting away in my little upstairs nook. Meanwhile, our downstairs is undergoing a pretty major renovation to create a new master bath and updated kitchen. But that's a whole other post...

Today, I'm super excited to share some upcoming class news!

First, I've been working with Tracy at The Little Blue House to create my own series of classes. It's called Fab Five and each class will feature five brand-new techniques that you can incorporate into your future projects. Of course, we'll be playing with some tools, including the best and latest from We R Memory Keepers. But we'll also be creating a great piece to take home with you...from mini books and layouts to cards and home decor.

Here's a peek at the class that's coming up on August 20:

The class features a 6x8 mini book with a fold-over magnetic closure and spiral binding.

Inside, there are tons of layers and textures to keep things interesting. You might even spot a few of the techniques I'm sharing...

We'll be using the Beautiful Life line from Echo Park Paper (so pretty!), along with some goodies from Maya Road, May Arts, Queen and Company and Canvas Corp. This kit is FULL of fun stuff!

The class is on August 20 at The Little Blue House, and registration is open now. Stop by the shop or call 817-431-7930 to reserve your spot!

Also, registration for Stitch Craft Create Live in Charlotte, North Carolina, opened this week! I'm teaching three classes on Oct. 25-26. You can see photos of all of them on the SCCL website, but here's a peek at my current favorite that I developed just for this event:

The covers are made from cork, which is so easy and fun to work with and adds such great texture. This class features the Photo Freedom Volume 2 collection from Echo Park Paper.

If you're in the Charlotte area (or are up for a little road trip!), check out all the details here.

Hope to see you in class!

The Great Purge of 2013

Remember back in September when we moved into the new house? It took me nearly a month to pack up my carefully organized (well, kind of organized) craft room.

It went from this...

to this...

to this. Sniff, sniff.

After about a month in the new house, the projects were piling up. CHA was only a few months away. New product rolling in. I was forced to get the room unpacked. So I got it to this point...

It's now June. Another CHA is looming and I've just finished the first round of convention classes. The room is a nightmare.

It's time for an intervention. I can't work like this. I need order. I need organization. I need a calmer rug on the floor. (Sheesh, that thing is ugly!)

And so it's time. Conveniently, my kids are out of town for the next week. Most moms would be ready to let loose and party like there's no tomorrow. Me? I just want my craft room clean and organized.

Yeah, I'm crazy like that.

It's all about the details

Well, I did it again. I created a whole slew of classes that are way more complicated than I originally intended for them to be. Conveniently, I had this "epiphany" last night, less than 12 hours before I was set to teach the first class.

I got to the classroom an hour early, determined to somehow make up for my overly ambitious class-creating by making sure everything was perfectly in line. And it was. For the first class...

In the end, everything turned out okay. In fact, it was better than okay. Verging on awesome.

Partly because I had 60 amazing (AMAZING!) students who appreciated all the stupidly complex details I put into the projects and executed them to a tee! And also because I had two freaking amazing (volunteer) assistants who rocked my world, working their butts off to help every single student get every single one of those crazy details into their project. Thank you Barb and Judy!

Today's experience reinforced one central point: I love teaching. I really, really love it. It fills me up with all kinds of happy.

So there will be more teaching, and more projects that are probably more ambitious than they should be. But that's just who I am. I don't do simple.

And hopefully -- fingers crossed -- I will see some familiar faces in future classes. In addition to Stitch Craft Create in Charlotte, I'm working on a few opportunities to teach in the DFW area.

Stay tuned...I will be posting future classes here and on my Facebook page.

In the meantime, now that I'm done making kits for my classes (did I mention they were crazy complicated?), maybe I'll have some time to post some actual work on this blog. We can only hope.